Uncharted Waters: Navigating the Purchase of a New Production Home

iNest's "Uncharted Waters: Navigating the Purchase of a New Production Home" is a series of audio files intended to educate homebuyers about buying a newly constructed home. The series is composed of 10 chapters, each covering a different aspect of buying a new home. Each chapter is about 20 minutes in length. You can download the files onto your PC or into an MP3 player or iPod© and listen to them at your convenience. Click on the image below to download the complete podcast (all 10 chapters) or on the links below to download individual chapters.

If the above link doesn't work, just copy and paste this link into your podcast receiver: http://inest.vo.llnwd.net/o1/podcast.xml

Players available at

Download Individual Chapters:

• Author's Remarks

• Reasons new construction can have built-in appreciation potential
• What is a master-planned community?
• The bonding aspects of buying in a new home neighborhood
• How new homes can be better "products" than older homes

• How builders choose locations
• Researching or asking about location
• Considerations of attached housing
• Deciding on a location within a neighborhood
• Researching homebuilders

• The importance of pre-approval to both you AND the builder
• Dealing with builder-paid incentives
• Getting a handle on Credit Scoring
• Using the builder's preferred lended
• Types of loan programs suited to individual borrowers' needs

• Build-on-your-own-lot and semi-custom building programs
• The science of model homes
• How to separate glitz from substance
• What to expect from the builder's salesperson
• Comparing several builders' homes
• Tips for buying model homes

• Floor plan layout considerations
• Room-by-room analysis for both needs and practicality
• Talking with the builder of your new home; questions to ask
• Insight into how production home builders operate

• When it may be possible to negotiate price or terms with a homebuilder
• Using incentive monies
• Common elements of builder purchase agreements and disclosures
• Builder-buyer meetings

• Upgrade and Option distinctions
• Devising plan before you make selections
• Choosing items that bode well for future re-sale enhancement
• The design center experience

• Contingent offers and how they work
• Timing the listing of your current home for the completion of your new one
• Safeguards to employ when selling in order to buy
• Taking tips from models homes to "stage" your own to sell
• Preparing for your move

• The purpose of a new home walk-through orientation
• Maintaining newness, making maintenance a shared responsibility and avoiding issues builder warranties may not cover
• Steps to take when the builder does not respond
• Closing participants and how "settlement" is accomplished

• Tips for the move-in
• Getting to know your new neighborhood
• Author's Conclusion Remarks